Hinged container

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a container having a filling cavity enclosed from all sides comprising a hood-like top portion open on one side and having outwardly projecting flanges surrounding it, a flat base portion secured to said flanges, the top portion comprising two hood sections extending in the same direction from the level of the flanges, each hood section having one end wall, two partial side walls, and a partial ceiling area with the open edges of the two hood sections facing in opposite directions and the open edges of pairs of partial side walls of the two hood sections which extend in the same plane having a common pivot point, and each pair of partial side walls extending in the same plane having an overlapping zone.

United States Patent Packert et al. [4 1 Oct. 3, 1972 [541 HINGED CONTAINER FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [72] Inventors: Anton Pa k tt, Oberurseler 927,035 5/1963 Great Britain ..206/78 B Strasse, 6242 Schonbe gl au 932,694 7/1963 Great Britain ..206/78 B Werner Dietrich, 18, Utestrasse, Wiesbaden, both of Germany Filed: May 22, 1970 Appl. No.: 39,784

Foreign Application Priority Data May 24, 1969 Germany ..P 19 26 738.0

A US. Cl. ..206/45.34, 206/56 R, 206/78 B Int. Cl. ..B65d 25/00 Field of Search ..206/45.34, 42, 56 R, 56 A, 206/56 AA, 78 B, 80 A References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1971 Wald ..206/78 B l l/ l 970 Hellstrom ..206/56 AA 7/ 1966 Anderson et al. .206/78 B UX 10/ 1969 Hellstrom ..206/78 B X Primary Examiner-J0seph R. Leclair Assistant Examiner-Steven E. Lipman Attorney-James E. Bryan [57] ABSTRACT This invention relates to a container having a filling cavity enclosed from all sides comprising a hood-like top portion open on one side and having outwardly projecting flanges surrounding it, a flat base portion secured to said flanges, the top portion comprising two hood sections extending in the same direction from the level of the flanges, each hood section having one end wall, two partial side walls, and a partial ceiling area with the open edges of the two hood sections facing in opposite directions and the open edges of pairs of partial side walls of the two hood sections which extend in the same plane having a common pivot point, and each pair of partial side walls extending in the same plane having an overlapping zone.

7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEDUBI 3 m2 SHLEI 1 UF 2 IINVENTORS ANTON PACKERT FIG 3 WERNER DIETRICH BY )M f 4% ATTORNEY PATENTEDUBI 3 I972 SHEET 2 [IF 2' FIG. 2

INVENTORS ANTON P'A'CKERT WERNER DIETRICH W W ATTORNEY HINGED CONTAINER The present invention relates to a container having a cavity enclosed from all sides and which can be made accessible, for filling with goods, by flipping the container open, and can be re-closed, on hinges, after the container has been filled or the goods removed.

The container according to the invention can be opened and reclosed as often as desired.

In particular, the present invention relates to a container of the type mentioned in which a hollow body forming the container is composed of two parts, viz, a molded top portion and a flat base portion. The top portion is in the form of a hood and the sides thereof terminate in outwardly projecting flanges surrounding it; the top portion is hinged. The hollow body, and thus the container, is formed in a manner whereby the flange of the hood-like top portion is secured to the surface of the base portion so that a filling cavity is formed.

Containers formed by joining a hood-like top portion with flanges to a flat base portion are known under the designations blister pack, bubble pack, or hood pack. In most cases, the hood-like component of the container-consists of aplastic material and the flat base portion is normally made of cardboard provided on one surface with a heat-scalable layer of polymer material.

For removal of the goods contained in known containers of this type, the hood is separated from the base portion by destroying the sealing bond between the base portion and the flanges of the hood. This means that the container is destroyed and cannot be used again. 1

Another known container of this type is opened by piercing a perforation in the base portion, so that part of the base portion can be removed. This container, too, cannot be closed again once it has been opened.

Further, a reclosable hood pack is known in which the hood and the base portion can be easily detached and joined again, because the base portion is in the form of a slide. However, with this known pack, two or three sides of the hood must be bent around in such a manner that they form rails for holding and guiding the slide plate. Further, this container has the disadvantage that its mechanical strength decreases with increasing size of the container and/or increasing weight of the goods contained therein.

In the case of known containers of this type, special machines are required to join the two components of the container firmly to one another after the goods have been placed upon the base portion thereof, so that the goods are surrounded on all sides by the two components of the container. k

The present invention provides a container which is without the disadvantagesof the known containers of this type, which can be opened and closed as often as desired after it has been filled or the goods removed therefrom, and which, moreover, can be used without the need for a packaging machine. The container according to the invention can be bought by the customer as a ready-made unit and can be closed without the use of a machine after it has been filled.

The container according to the present invention has a filling cavity that is enclosed from all sides, and is formed from a hood-like top portion which is open on one side and has outwardly projecting flanges surrounding it, and a flat base portion, by joining the flanges of the top portion firmly to the base portion. The hood-like top portion consists of two hood sections which extend in the same direction from the level of the common flange surrounding the top portion, and each hood section has one end wall, two partial side walls, and a partial ceiling area, with the open edges of the two hood sections facing in opposite directions. The open edges of pairs of partial side walls of the two hood sections extending in the same plane have a common pivot point, and each pair of partial side walls extending in the same plane have an overlapping zone.

The hood-like top may be made of any material which possesses sufiicient inherent stability, flexibility, and toughness. Top portions consisting of thermoplastic materials are preferred. Top portions made of thermoplastic films, preferably of thermoplastic transparent films, are particularly advantageous.

Top portions of thermoplastic films are manufactured most advantageously according to the thermoforming process, by deep-drawing.

Exemplary of suitable thermoplastic films are films of polyolefins, polystyrene, and most advantageously, of polyvinyl chloride. Polyvinyl chloride films or films based on polyvinyl chloride copolymers which are distinguished by their transparency and good impact strength, are preferred. A polyvinyl chloride film of good impact strength in this connection means a polyvinyl chloride film whose impact strength is at least equal to that of a film of emulsion polyvinyl chloride.

. The base portion of the container according to the present invention normally comprises a section of flat material,on which the container is supported. In special cases, the base portion may be in the form of a shallow tray surrounded by an outwardly projecting flange. In this case, the container is assembled by placing the flange of the hood-like top portion on the flange of the base portion and firmly joining the two parts along the zone of the flanges.

In a preferred embodiment of the container according to the invention, the base portion is provided with a groove-like impressed line. In the case of a base portion of rectangular shape, this indented line may extend vertically from one of the longer edges of the base portion to the other, for example.

The base portion may be of any material of sufficient stiffness, flexibility and toughness. It is of particular advantage when the base portion is of the same or a similar plastic material as the top portion. Altematively, the base portion may be of cardboard the upper surface of which is provided with a heat-scalable layer.

The flange of the hood-like top portion may be joined with the base portion by known means, such as cementing, stapling, and especially by heat-sealing or welding.

The flange surrounding the hood-like top portion defines an area which in the following will be designated as the basis. The basis may be of rectangular, square, hexagonal, rhombic, or trapezoidal shape, or it may have rounded edges.- Preferably, the basis of the top portion is in the form of a rectangle or a square. The hood of the top portion which rises above the level of the flanges will be designated as the hood. The container is described in the closed condition.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, the hood has four sides, viz, two parallel side walls which are of the same length and longer than the other two sides, and two shorter end walls. Each of these sides is bounded by two lateral edges. In these lateral edges, two sides of the top portion meet under an angle. In the lateral edges of a hood section, a partial side wall of the hood-like top portion meets with an end wall. An end wall is that side of the hood which has no open edge. The end walls of the top portion may rise substantially vertically upwardly from the level of the flanges, or they may be inclined toward the interior of the container. The two end walls of the hood-like top portion may form the same angle or different angles of inclination with the plane of the flanges.

Preferably, the hood of the top portion has a square or a rectangular basis and a flat ceiling area. It is a characteristic of the container according to the invention that the upper and lower edges of the two opposed side walls of the hood extend parallel to each other. The two side walls may be inclined toward the outside or the inside and may form the same angle, or one of them may be inclined to the outside and the other to the inside. In a preferred embodiment of the container according to the invention, the side walls extend parallel to each other and vertically to the plane of the flanges. I

The hood consists of two hood sections which rise in the same direction from the plane of the flanges and which are firmly connected only in the vicinity of their common flanges.

Each hood section consists of one end wall and two sides which are designated as partial side walls. They border on the lateral edges of the end wall and extend in the same direction, preferably parallel to each other. The partial side walls of one hood section are substantially of the same length and height and correspond in their height to the height of the end walls. In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the container, the partial side walls of one hood section are longer than the partial side walls of the other hood section. In this case, each of the two side walls of the hood is composed of a longer and a shorter partial side wall. Alternatively, an embodiment is possible in which the partial side walls of the two hood sections are of the same length. The ceiling area of a hood section is the area which is bounded by the upper edge of one end wall and the upper edges of the partial side walls issuing from the end wall. The fourth boundary line of the ceiling area is an open edge. The two hood sections open in opposite directions.

Each of the two side walls of the hood is composed of two partial side walls which extend substantially in the same plane, but belong to different hood sections. The partial side walls which combine to form a side wall of the hood overlap within an area which is called the overlapping zone. Within this overlapping zone, one of the partial side walls is in an external position and the other partial side wall is in the internal position, i.e., the outer surface of the inner partial side wall is in contact with the inner surface of the other partial side wall.

The lines in which two surfaces meet are designated as edges," and open edges" are those edges by which a surface is bounded without changing over into another surface in this edge. The open edge of each partial side wall extends from the upper edge of the partial side wall obliquely downward and ends in the inner edge of the flange. It forms an acute angle with the upper edge of the partial side wall and an angle of more than with the lower edge of the same partial side wall.

The point in which the open edge of a partial side wall meets the inner edge of the flange will be designated as the pivot point. The two partial side walls extending in the same plane which together form one of the side walls of the hood, have a common pivot point. Due to the described slope of the open edges of the partial side walls, they form between them an overlapping zone of triangular shape when the container is closed; within this overlapping zone, the two partial side walls are in close contact with each other. The expression in close contact" means that upon closure of the container, the partial side walls and the partial ceiling areas of the hood overlap in such a manner that within the overlapping zone there is substantially no clearance between them.

Due to the flexibility of the material used for the manufacture of the top portion, the side walls of the overlapped hood section may be compressed, so that the two hood sections can be arranged as described. In this arrangement, both the partial side walls and the partial ceiling areas overlap in the overlapping zone.

A partial ceiling area is that part of a hood section which extends between the upper edge of the end wall and the upper edges of the partial side walls adjoining the end wall. The partial ceiling areas of the two hood sections form together the upper surface of the hoodlike top, which is also designated as the ceiling area."

The size of the zone in which the partial ceiling areas of the two hood sections overlap must be so selected that, on the one hand, a sufficiently safe and tight closure of the container is guaranteed, and, simultaneously, the container can be easily opened and closed. The depth of the overlapping zone of the partial ceiling areas and the length of the open edges meeting in the pivot point determine the dimensions of the triangular overlapping zone of the partial side walls of a closed container.

The connecting line between the two pivot points positioned in opposite points of the parallel inner edges of the flanges is the folding line around which the two hood sections of the top portion are bent when the container is opened or closed. Due to the flexibility of the material, the flange can be bent as often as is desired along the folding axis.

Opening and closing of the top portion of the container is performed, as already mentioned, by bending the flanges around the folding axis. Thereby, the base portion which is firmly joined to the top portion is also bent around the folding line, i.e., along the line which connects the two pivot points. In a preferred embodiment of the container, this line is impressed as a groove in order to facilitate bending when the base portion is of relatively thick material.

In order to diminish the risk of unintentional opening or closing of the container, it is of particular advantage when the overlapping zone of the ceiling areas of the two hood sections is provided with interlocking corrugations which resiliently engage with each other.

The accompanying drawings show one embodiment of the container according to the invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the container according to the invention which consists of a top portion with a rectangular basis and a flat rectangular ceiling area, and a flat base portion of rectangular shape all edges of which are longer than the edges defining the basis of the top portion. The top portion of the container is surrounded by flanges with which it rests on the upper surface of the base portion and which are firmly attached to the base portion.

FIG. 2 shows the container of FIG. 1 in the open condition.

FIG. 3 is a perspective diagrammatic view of a detail of FIG. 1.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, the base portion consists of a cardboard section the upper surface of which is provided with a heatsealable layer of polymer material. In this case, the top portion and the base portion of the container are firmly joined by heat-sealing.

In FIG. 1, A designates the top portion as a whole, and B and C are the hood sections of the top portion which combine to form the hood. l

D is the surrounding flange of the top portion, and 3a and 3b are the sections of the flange D which in the edges 40 and 4b change over into partial side walls 7a and 7b of the hood sections B and C. E is the ceiling area of the top portion formed by the partial ceiling areas 6a and 6b of the hood sections B and C. Numerals 8 designate the end walls of the top portion, or the end walls of the hood sections B and C. Numeral 9 designates the zone of the top portion in which the partial side walls 7a and 7b of the hood sections B and C overlap whereas 10 is the overlapping zone of the partial ceiling areas 6a and 6b. Numeral 11a designates the open edge of the partial side wall 7a, and 11b is the open edge of the partial ceiling area 6a. Numeral 12a designates the open edge of the partial side wall 7b, and 12b is the open edge of the partial ceiling area 6b. Numeral l3 designates the pivot points on the inner edge of the flange. Open edges 11a and 12a end in these points. Numeral 14a designates the upper edge of the partial side wall 7a, and 14b is the upper edge of the partial side wall 7b. Numeral l6 designates the base portion of the container on which the top portion rests with its flanges and to which it is fastened. Numeral l7 designates a groove formed in the base portion 16. Numeral l8 designates one of the lateral edges.

In FIG. 2, the letters B, C, and D, and the numerals 3a, 3b, 4a,.4b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8, 11a, 11b, 12a, 12b, 13, 14a, 14b, 16, 17, and 18 have the same meaning as in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 3, the letters B, C, D, and the numerals 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8, 9, 10, 11a, 11b, 12a, 12b, 13, 14a, 14b, 16, 17, and 18 have the same meaning as in FIG. 1.

For closure of the container, which in FIG. 2 is shown-in the open condition, the partial side walls 7b, e.g., of the hood section 2b are slightly compressed in the vicinity of the open edges 12a, simultaneously the partial ceiling area is pressed down in the vicinity of its open edge 12b, and the base portion 16 is straightened from its angled position to assume a horizontal position. As a result thereof, part of the partial ceiling area 6b and part of the partial side walls 7b of the hood section 2b slip into hood section 2a, thus forming the over lapping zones of the partial ceiling areas and the partial side walls showg in FIG. 1.

Opening of t e container according to FIG. 1 IS performed by bending the base portion around the folding axis.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many modifications may be made within the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof, and the invention includes all such modifications.

What is claimed is:

l. A container having a filling cavity enclosed from all sides comprising a hood-like top portion open on one side and having outwardly projecting continuous flanges surrounding it, a flat base portion secured to said flanges, the top portion comprising two hood sections, being hinged by the surrounding flanges and extending in the same direction from the level of the flanges, each hood section having one end wall, two partial side walls, and a partial ceiling area with the open edges of the two hood sections facing in opposite directions and the open edges of pairs of partial side walls of the two hood sections which extend in the same plane having a common pivot point, and each pair of partial side walls extending in the same plane having an overlapping zone.

2. A container according to claim 1 in which the top portion comprises polyvinyl chloride film and the base portion comprises cardboard, the upper surface of which has a layer of heat-scalable material thereon.

3. A container according to claim 1 in which both the top portion and the base portion comprise polyvinyl chloride film.

4. A container according to claim 1 in which the longitudinal edges of one partial ceiling area are longer than the longitudinal edges of the other partial ceiling area.

5. A container according to claim 1 in which the bases of the top portion and the base portion are rectangular.

6. A container according to claim 1 in which the top portion and the base portion are joined by heat-sealing.

7. A container according to claim 1 in which the top portion and the base portion are joined by welding.

v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,695,419 Dated October 3, 1972 Inventor(s) Anton Packert et al It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

The following is to be inserted as item Assignee: Kalle Aktiengesellschaft, Wiesbaden- Biebrich, Germany.

Signed and sealed this 13th day of March 1973..

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents FORM PO-lOSO (10-69) USCOMM-DC 603764 69 9 U 5, GOVERNMENT PRlNTlNG OFFICE: I969 0-366fll34 

1. A container having a filling cavity enclosed from all sides comprising a hood-like top portion open on one side and having outwardly projecting continuous flanges surrounding it, a flat base portion secured to said flanges, the top portion comprising two hood sections, being hinged by the surrounding flanges and extending in the same direction from the level of the flanges, each hood section having one end wall, two partial side walls, and a partial ceiling area with the open edges of the two hood sections facing in opposite directions and the open edges of pairs of partial side walls of the two hood sections which extend in the same plane having a common pivot point, and each pair of partial side walls extending in the same plane having an overlapping zone.
 2. A container according to claim 1 in which the top portIon comprises polyvinyl chloride film and the base portion comprises cardboard, the upper surface of which has a layer of heat-sealable material thereon.
 3. A container according to claim 1 in which both the top portion and the base portion comprise polyvinyl chloride film.
 4. A container according to claim 1 in which the longitudinal edges of one partial ceiling area are longer than the longitudinal edges of the other partial ceiling area.
 5. A container according to claim 1 in which the bases of the top portion and the base portion are rectangular.
 6. A container according to claim 1 in which the top portion and the base portion are joined by heat-sealing.
 7. A container according to claim 1 in which the top portion and the base portion are joined by welding. 